


the future is bubblegum pink

by candymin



Series: the future is bubblegum pink [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Clairvoyance, Drinking, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Making Out, One Night Stands, Soulmates, Strangers to Lovers, donghyuck is a general menace, jeno is a supportive friend, side nohyuck if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:35:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27876949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candymin/pseuds/candymin
Summary: Jaemin has grown to love and even look forward to his routine at the store and having gone through this process so many times, he can’t help but feel a little irritated when something is out of place. As it happens to be right now, when instead of finding the familiar box of assorted ice cream cones, his eyes settle on a mop of bubblegum pink hair blocking his usual path. Hell, he could have even bumped into this person when turning the corner, seeing as they’re blocking the entire aisle with their cart. It’s a good thing he was careful.Well, it probably also helps that he can see the future.or: Jaemin is a clairvoyant and the only thing he couldn’t predict was Renjun.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin
Series: the future is bubblegum pink [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2114505
Comments: 20
Kudos: 200





	the future is bubblegum pink

**Author's Note:**

> hello! :] this is my first proper word baby and although it's not perfect i love it a whole lot ;_; 
> 
> huge thank you to my one and only [ti](https://twitter.com/noceurtiniti) for beta-ing and letting me scream into her dms :D love u~  
> also shoutout to all my other writer sunbaenims for giving me advice and always being supportive :") 
> 
> this fic also has a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4OoPDsl0uFaHvc5QlgZEUl?si=8FmcPLdWQf2j00ILMuxiyg) :D
> 
> i hope you enjoy it!!

#  **1.**

Jaemin knows the grocery store like the back of his hand. It’s only a medium sized market, small enough to fit the corner of the street he lives on and big enough to allow for a decent variety in the fruit department. He thinks he developed an emotional connection to the damn place what with all the evenings he spent retracing his steps and perfecting a meticulously thought-out pattern: first he grabs sweets, bread and other baked goods, then he spends exactly 20 minutes debating on whether or not to buy that new flavour of crisps, all the while adding more sweets to the cart; he ultimately decides they are too high in fat and calories and goes to grab dairy substitutes, frozen noodles and vegetables; finally, he stocks up on fruits and, without fault, adds some vegan ice cream at the end, for good measure. This is, in his humble opinion, the optimal way to achieve the fastest results while also taking into account and making sure to not bump into any of the surrounding customers, as loyal and succumbed to their own patterns as himself. He has grown to love and even look forward to this routine and having gone through this process so many times, he can’t help but feel a little irritated when something is out of place. As it happens to be right now, when instead of finding the familiar box of assorted ice cream cones, his eyes settle on a mop of bubblegum pink hair, blocking his usual path. Hell, he could have even bumped into this person when turning the corner, seeing as they’re blocking the entire aisle with their cart. It’s a good thing he was careful. Well, it probably also helps that he can see the future. 

“Ahem,” Jaemin clears his throat, not bothering to hide his irritation, “May I?” 

The person looks up and flashes a polite smile, standing up from where they were apparently reading the nutritional value of a jar of tomato sauce. 

“May you what?” they ask, seemingly oblivious to the state of absolute frustration they caused in Jaemin. 

It wasn’t that Jaemin couldn’t move the cart himself, but the aisle was a particularly cramped one and seeing as he was handling his own, almost overflowing cart, he required the assistance of another person.

He sighs, gesturing vaguely at the situation.

The stranger’s eyes light up in understanding. “Oh, of course, I’m so sorry!” 

They hurriedly turn to move the cart and before Jaemin can stop himself, he urges, a second too early: “Wait, the sauce—” he shoots a hand forward but it’s too late and he’s left to throw a pitiful look at the unfortunate aftermath: glass shards swimming in a puddle of tomato sauce. 

Jaemin pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, what seems to be the problem here?” Jeno (Jaemin’s favourite employee and, even if he won’t always admit it, his best friend) approaches, eyeing the two. 

“I was _just_ trying to walk by when—” Jaemin sighs, turning to the stranger, “what are your pronouns?” 

“He, him,” he announces quietly, big eyes boring into Jaemin’s as though he’d seen a ghost.

“Okay, mine too,” Jaemin pauses. “When he dropped the jar of sauce! Now can we _please_ establish I’m not in the wrong here,” he glances at his watch, “I’ve already wasted 9 minutes on this.”

“Jaemin…” Jeno starts.

“He’s right, it was my fault,” the boy admits sheepishly, “I’ll pay for it,” he throws a small smile and if Jaemin was in a better mood, he’d feel a bit guilty. 

He watches as the pink-haired stranger leaves the store before starting to bag his items. He feels Jeno’s eyes on him. 

“What?” Jaemin spits, fumbling with a bag of chocolate croissants.

“Don’t you think you… maybe… overreacted?” he asks as he struggles to scan a carton of soy milk. 

“No?” Jaemin raises his eyebrows. “You know how important it is to stick to the schedule, Jeno.” 

“I know, but I’m just saying. You shouldn’t be dragging others into this. Poor guy must have felt so bad,” Jeno sighs, sending him a reprimanding look along with his receipt.

Jaemin scoffs and grabs his bags. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jeno.” 

**\---** ****

He struggles to grip his groceries as he makes his way to the apartment, mentally cursing himself for choosing to buy the XL 6-pack of orange juice. His breath forms what would be a visible fog, if not for the darkness of the night. He stops in his tracks just before his apartment building appears in sight, not wanting to divulge his address to the person following him home.

He lets his bags down with a shallow exhale and massages his fingers. “Alright, come out,” he calls.

Silence. 

“C’mon, I know you’re there,” Jaemin groans and sure enough, a small figure emerges from a tree. 

“What the fuck?” he questions, throwing his hands in the air as he’s once again met with the pink-haired stranger. 

“Um... hi?” he tries, hand awkwardly scratching the back of his head. 

“Why did you follow me home?!”

“I’m sorry, okay? I wanted to talk to you so I waited outside the store but by the time you got out I got distracted by this kitty and when I saw you you were already kinda far and I didn’t wanna be _that_ guy and like… yell at you in the middle of the night so I just thought I’d run to catch up with you but then I felt awkward and hesitant to call out and then you stopped walking,” he said in one breath, cheeks red, from what Jaemin supposes is a combination of the cold and running out of air. “And now we’re here. I’m Renjun, by the way,” he holds out a hand, a smile stretched on his lips. 

“Yeah and I’m...not doing this,” Jaemin says, eyebrows raised, gesturing between the two of them. He was already bending down to pick up his bags when Renjun, apparently, spoke:

“How did you know I was following you?”

 _I won’t bite_ , Jaemin thinks, grabbing the groceries and heading for his building.

“Hey, I’m talking to you, how did you know?” he asks, voice becoming louder. _Great, he’s following me. Again._

“Good night, Renjun,” Jaemin announces in a fabricated honeyed voice. 

“What about back at the store? How did you know the jar was gonna fall?” 

Jaemin freezes. 

_He doesn’t have a clue, it’s fine,_ he reassures himself and continues walking.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” Renjun asks, voice dripping with… fear? 

Jaemin shudders. And yet, he turns around.

“Your grip wasn’t firm. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the outcome,” he narrows his eyes, aware of the hostility in his voice. 

“No… you said it way before anyone else would have figured it out,” he lets out a light chuckle, voice becoming a whisper as he walked slowly towards Jaemin. “You are, aren’t you?” 

Before he can clarify what exactly he means, Jaemin sees a glimmer in his eyes and the realisation hits him in the stomach.

_Oh my god, he’s not afraid. He’s..._

“You’re a fortune teller!” Renjun yelps, arms raised to the sky.

 _...excited,_ Jaemin thinks, face scrunching in distaste. 

“That’s not even… it’s a completely diff— just don’t… call me that,” Jaemin forces out, trying to suppress his instinct to throw up when hearing those words. 

Renjun breaks out into a toothy grin: “You are! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god—” 

Jaemin frowns as bubblegum pink hair starts flailing his arms around, whisper-yelling a string of unintelligible noises.

 _I shouldn’t have fucking bitten._

#  **2.**

Just to clarify, Jaemin is _not_ a fucking fortune teller. He doesn’t use a crystal globe, he doesn’t read palms or tea leaves and he sure as hell doesn’t invoke divine deities to tell Susan about her husband’s posthumous affairs. No, Jaemin is a _clairvoyant._ Or rather, that’s the term he prefers, because truth be told, he doesn’t know himself very well yet. He’s still experimenting, so an umbrella term may be just what he needs, okay? And sure, he might be relatively okay with _psychic_ , but don’t ever call him a fortune teller. That’s just disrespectful. 

In this world, clairvoyants are a bit like endangered animals. Many people know they exist, few have actually met one and every so often an asshole tries to profit off of them, which is exactly why they’re usually advised to keep their powers a secret. This is also why there’s a lot of misinformation around the subject and why clairvoyants usually feel rather lonely. 

Now, Jaemin considers himself to be a fairly reasonable, easy-going person… when he is not being stalked by strangers, that is. It’s been almost a week since Renjun’s foot got caught in Jaemin’s front door as he was attempting — or rather forcing himself into — a conversation about Jaemin’s powers. He did back off eventually, but not before threatening to sue him over losing his ability to walk. Bit dramatic if you ask Jaemin. 

So yes, Jaemin thinks he’s pretty good at handling the most annoying situations without being (very) rude, but it seems his newest acquaintance is eager to test his limits seeing as he insisted on accompanying him to the store every. single. evening. And of course, not missing the pesky little questions about his personal life that he somehow classifies as small talk (“ _Do you have siblings? Who is Hyuck? Are you and Jeno dating?”_ ). 

“Do you really think this is the best option here?” Jeno asks, slightly concerned as he gives Jaemin a once-over. He was wearing a long padded jacket, sunglasses and a mask, and was currently crouching behind a box of supplies in the canned goods aisle. Camouflage, he’d called it. 

“Shhh!” Jaemin urges, matching the sound with a finger to his lips, “Keep your voice down!” 

Jeno frowns, looking around the store and seeing a whopping two people. 

“There’s barely anyone here!” he protests, placing the last can of sliced mushrooms on the shelf. 

“For all we know, he might be hiding in the fruit aisle, waiting for a chance to attack me!” Jaemin cries out. “Did I tell you I dreamt of him last night? He’s nightmare material!”

“You’re being paranoid,” Jeno shakes his head, grabbing the now empty box and forcing an irritated grunt out of Jaemin, who was now left without his precious cover. 

“Am not!” he says as he follows Jeno to the checkout counter. “How would you feel if an actual stranger followed you around every day insisting he wants to be friends? Look into my eyes and tell me that’s not creepy!” he complains, leaning against the conveyor belt to look at him. 

Jeno sighs. “I can’t even see your eyes.” Jaemin blinks, adjusting his sunglasses as if he’d just registered they were there. “Listen, Jaem. Is the guy a little weird? Yeah, sure,” Jaemin nods, “Does he have any boundaries? Absolutely not,” Jaemin shakes his head, “ _But…_ I still think you’re overreacting. He just wants to be friends!”

“He wants to exploit me _and_ my powers!”

“Oh, give him some credit. He literally _just_ met a clairvoyant, of course he’s curious! Don’t you remember how _I_ was when I found out?” 

A fond smile finds Jaemin as he remembers Jeno flooding his inbox: 

**18 new messages from: jeno**

**will I pass this exam??**

**should I ask minhyung out? or is he gonna reject me :/**

**how should i dress tomorrow?**

**am i gonna be sick if i eat this pizz…**

“At least you stuck to sending messages.” 

“Hey, I’m just saying. I’m sure he’ll back off if you at least give him some answers. And who knows, maybe you’ll end up being friends and you’ll stop spending every evening here. God knows you need a change,” Jeno reasons, fingers furiously punching codes in the cash register. 

“You know I can’t do that. I’m still waiting. I have to stick to the schedule,” Jaemin replies quietly, arms crossed against his chest. “Besides, I like it here. It’s cozy.” 

Jeno frowns. “It’s a grocery store.” Jaemin shrugs and Jeno ponders a bit before asking: “But anyway, how do you know it’s not him?” 

He hesitates. “It’s not. He has pink hair. And he looks shorter.” 

“Maybe he dyed it recently,” Jeno offers. “Also height is tricky, you said it yourself. Just give him a chance, Jaem,” he says with a reassuring smile. “I’m gonna go sort some boxes in the back before I close. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Jeno nods before disappearing behind an _Employees Only_ door. 

Jaemin exits the store, abandoning his initial plan to go home. It was only 10 pm and for some reason his conversation with Jeno left a bitter taste in his mouth, so it was only fair he drowned it with another bitter taste. 

Jaemin is a pretty optimistic person and despite his tendency to come across as a cynical asshole, he actually cares a lot, which means he finds himself in this situation quite often: sad, slightly intoxicated and mentally cursing his powers. _Stupid vision_ , he thinks as he clings to his second soon-to-be empty bottle of soju. The bar is buzzing with people, but Jaemin still feels incredibly pitiful drinking alone and he was contemplating asking Donghyuck to join him before his eyes stumbled upon a small, pink-haired figure. Renjun lingers at the entrance of the tent, eyes seemingly scanning for a free table. 

_Hm._ Jaemin swallows the last of his bottle and straightens his posture, briefly wondering how come he didn’t _see_ Renjun walking in. Oh well, it wouldn’t be the first time the alcohol numbed his powers. Renjun freezes as he catches his eyes and, against his better judgement, Jaemin motions for him to come over. 

“Hi,” Renjun starts, choosing to sit across from Jaemin, “believe it or not, I actually didn’t know you were gonna be here. I was just craving pork belly,” he giggles and proceeds to yell out his order. 

“I know.” 

“Oh right, forgot about that,” he grins.

Jaemin closes his eyes and sighs. “No, I— I can’t actually _feel_ your intentions, I can only see actions.” 

Renjun’s eyes light up and Jaemin can already _feel_ he’s gonna regret this. “So can you see like… ten years into the future?” he asks, voice tentative.

Jaemin blinks slowly, giving himself an unfairly small amount of seconds to consider this, before giving up. “Alright, tell you what,” he pushes his chair closer to Renjun’s so that they’re next to each other, “I’m gonna order one more of this,” he holds out the soju bottle, “and I’ll answer every question you can get out in the time it takes me to drink it. Deal?” 

Renjun squeals. “Really? Are you sure? Oh my god. Wait, how many of those have you had, will you be okay?” Jaemin narrows his eyes, suddenly hit with the realisation that he’s gonna have to get used to the fact that Renjun speaks about three times faster than the average population. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t get sick, I can see the future, remember?” he smirks, leaving Renjun’s mouth hanging as he goes to pick up his drinks. 

“Okay,” Jaemin exhales as he sits back down, popping a bottle open, “hit me.” 

Renjun swallows a bite of pork belly. “How old are you?”

 _Odd choice_ , Jaemin thinks.

“I’m 20.” 

“Oh, I thought you age slower than humans. I’m 20 too,” Renjun comments.

Jaemin frowns. “I _am_ a human. Being clairvoyant just means I have some powers, I’m not like… a different species.” 

Renjun hums. “So how does this thing actually work? Do you have visions? How far into the future can you see?”

“I wouldn’t say they’re visions, unless something very big is about to happen. So basically,” he looks around and leans in, trying not to focus too hard on the fact that he’s definitely too close to Renjun now, “I can’t see too far, unless I really try to. I mostly just… know what’s about to happen a few minutes before it happens… kinda like remembering the future. If I concentrate, the minutes turn into hours, days and so on. The furthest I saw was about half a year. But it’s different from person to person. It would be super hard to live if I knew too much.” 

Renjun nods and Jaemin barely registers he’s holding his own soju bottle. _When did that happen?_

“I don’t really like to _look_ , though. Into the future, I mean. Not as much as the others,” he thinks of Donghyuck and his affinity for knowing how his day will go. “It bums me out.”

Renjun half-nods, as if he understood the feeling perfectly. “So what happens when it’s something big?” he asks, eyes focused. 

Jaemin takes a swig of soju and his throat protests. “Well, our role is to keep things in balance, right? If something of catastrophic proportions were to happen, we’d have to warn the others. These things usually come to you. Little warnings that force you to _look_.”

“And how would you do that? Do clairvoyants know each other? How many of you are there?” Renjun whispers and Jaemin tries to count his freckles but his vision’s gone blurry. 

“There’s a Council and a number we can use to contact them. I know a few clairvoyants from when I was in training, but I only kept in touch with one of them and… I wouldn’t know how many of us there are. A few millions, I think.” 

“What training?” Renjun narrows his eyes and judging by the colour of his cheeks, he’s probably getting tipsy.

“After you’re born, your powers… they don’t— they don’t kick in until you’re around 5 or 6. It’s kinda like with walking, it depends on the person,” Jaemin slurs. “And then, your parents enroll you in training. It’s a few hours a week and there’s a bunch of people teaching you how to deal with it. There’s courses and grades, it’s pretty much a second school. Sometimes it’s fun, most of the times it’s confusing and you meet a lot of stuck up idiots, both adults and kids.” 

Renjun’s head is supported by his hand as he watches Jaemin, eyes blinking slowly. Jaemin lets his gaze travel on his face, from the warm brown of his half lidded eyes to his plump, pink tinted lips. _Does he use chapstick?_

“And then what?” he says, barely audible in the crowded tent, but still resonating through Jaemin’s entire body. 

“You graduate from it when you turn 18 and from then on, you’re pretty much on your own.”

Renjun nods pensively. “Have you ever tried to win the lottery or to cheat an exam?

Jaemin chuckles. _A classic._ “We are registered as clairvoyants before training. We’re not allowed to bet. Teachers make up subjects on the spot. We can’t read minds, nor see too many details. Of course, there are those who don’t train and fly under the radar, but I can’t speak for them. I don’t imagine they can do much, though. Without training, it’s close to impossible to learn how to handle the power. It can ruin you.” 

Renjun leans back and runs a hand through his hair and if Jaemin mentally whines at the newfound distance between them, he blames the alcohol. He notices a faint, bruise-like spot on the back of his hand. A birthmark, perhaps. 

“What happens when you work against what you know is gonna happen? Like the jar of tomato sauce. If you saw in the future that it was gonna drop and you stopped it, what would happen then? Some time-space rupture? Another dimension?” 

Jaemin contemplates reciting the speech he learned in Parapsychology 101 before ultimately deciding for the short version of the story, more for himself rather than for Renjun. “The future I see is the future that’s gonna happen, if we talk about the near future. Most of the time, there’s barely any time to act, so I don’t bother to. But if I do act on it, I see myself doing so. The jar dropped because that’s what I saw. If I’d had the time to stop you, I would have seen that.”

“But you still called out.”

“Yeah, well, it’s involuntary. Like saying _ouch_ after hitting your foot,” he takes a final swig and places his bottle on the table, almost missing it, “I’m still human after all.” 

“And what if it’s not the near future? Like, what if you saw that you were gonna fail an exam?”

“I can’t cheat fate. I can only prepare myself for the consequences. Same with warning others through the Council. We can’t actually stop disasters, but we can alleviate them through prevention.” 

“Oh. Makes sense,” Renjun mumbles, lips attached to his bottle. He scrunches his nose as he finishes it and presses his head on his outstretched arm. “It must mean you’re very strong, mentally. That’s cool…” His hair falls into his eyes. “My head feels super heavy,” he complains, which earns a soft smile from Jaemin. 

“We should probably leave, it’s getting late,” Jaemin glances at his watch, failing to tell the exact time. _1:15 am? 2:25 am?_ The hands seemed to get blurrier the more he looked. He was just about to get up when Renjun spoke:

“Why were you in such a hurry at the store?” 

Jaemin presses his lips into a tight line and goes to help Renjun slip his discarded coat back on. Three soju bottles to one? Renjun sure was a lightweight. “I wasn’t.”

“You were,” he protests, face instantly softening as he welcomes the warmth of his coat, “I overheard you talking about sticking to a schedule or something.” 

“Well that’s quite personal now, isn’t it?” Jaemin scolds, not unlike a kindergarten teacher, helping him stand up. 

“You were practically yelling it. I just happen to have good hearing,” he exhales as he clings onto Jaemin’s arm for balance. “What did you mean about the schedule?” he looked up, struggling to find Jaemin’s eyes. Their faces were mere inches apart and Jaemin chuckled at Renjun’s accusatory glare. 

“I finished the soju, Renjun. No more questions,” Renjun pouts, “now let’s get you home.” 

**\---**

Jaemin feels eternally grateful for the fact that Renjun lives only a few blocks away from him as he wobbles his way to his apartment. He punches the code to his door with extra caution, already anticipating the warmth of his bed. 

_Huh, that wasn’t too bad. Maybe Jeno was right. Despite being slightly overbearing and intrusive, Renjun is actually harmless._

He takes off his clothes and slides into bed, a satisfied smile finding his lips. In his drunken haze, he lets his mind travel to the way Renjun’s lips curl when he giggles. Ten, maybe twenty minutes go by and the room starts to spin. Jaemin goes to the bathroom and throws up. 

#  **3.**

“Hello? Earth to Jaemin? Are you even pretending to listen?” Jaemin looks up to where Donghyuck is leaning against the table, seconds away from probably slapping him. “Great, not even that,” he scoffs dramatically, sitting back down. 

Jaemin blinks, suddenly aware they were in the university cafeteria. “Sorry, it’s just… this weird thing happened.”

“What thing?” he says, toying with his half-eaten rice cake soup. 

“I think I _saw_ something wrong?” Jaemin pauses, looking at his own lunch tray and discarding the strawberry yogurt.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that, buddy.”

“I _saw_ that I wasn’t gonna get sick after drinking on Friday, but… I did,” Jaemin muses.

“Oh,” Donghyuck exhales in relief, “you had me scared for a second there. Dude, that’s normal, I _see_ wrong stuff all the time when I’m drunk.”

“No, see, that’s the thing. I wasn’t drunk,” Donghyuck stills and a piece of meat falls unceremoniously from his chopsticks, “I was barely tipsy. What are the chances I was just… off?” Jaemin continues, fully aware of the answer he’ll likely get.

“Uh… like zero?” he places his chopsticks on the tray with a clink, “You might have been tipsier than you thought, though. Don’t think too much of it,” he shrugs.

Jaemin frowns, not entirely convinced.

“Why were you even drinking alone?” Donghyuck asks half-heartedly, stifling a giggle as he scrolls through his phone.

“Oh, I wasn’t,” Donghyuck looks up, “I was with a guy I met a few weeks ago.” 

Jaemin should have seen it coming, really. Donghyuck drops his phone on the table, gasping dramatically. “Na Jaemin!” he smirks, looking Jaemin up and down, “Look at you. I didn’t think I’d live to see the day where you finally pull your head out of your ass…” he sniffs, wiping at an invisible tear and Jaemin rolls his eyes, “What’s his name? Did you bone?” 

Jaemin scowls. “Gross. I barely know him.” 

“That wouldn’t be a problem for me…” Donghyuck mumbles, looking to the side.

“And besides,” Jaemin continues, purposely ignoring his comment, “you know I’m not interested in dating.” It wasn’t that Jaemin didn’t have luck in the love department. He’d actually gotten quite a few confessions over the years, both in high-school and university, and he did date casually once or twice. But ever since he got his vision, he decided to wait for the right moment. The right person.

Donghyuck groans. “Not again with _that,_ ” he facepalms, “You are 20, not 60 for crying out loud! And I didn’t even mention dating, just have some fun!” he sighs, throwing him a pitiful look. “You know, you’d be a lot less of a stuck-up if you got it wet once in a while.” 

“Hyuck!” Jaemin throws him a reprimanding look.

Donghyuck throws his hands up defensively. “I’m _just_ saying. By the way, speaking of, I’m throwing a party on Friday, my parents are out of town again,” he says, typing away on his phone. “I expect you’ll be there. 9PM. It’s Hawaiian themed.” 

Jaemin squints. “It’s December.” 

“Yeah, and did I stutter? If I can’t have summer, I’ll make my own,” he takes a sip of coffee, eyeing Jaemin judgmentally, “I’m telling you. Stuck-up.”

Jaemin chuckles and looks down at his phone just as he receives a message. 

**Unknown [10:11 AM]**

**look behind u :P**

“What the…?” he turns around to see a smiling Renjun aggressively waving from the other side of the cafeteria. Jaemin shakes his head, struggling to remember when they exchanged numbers. “What is he doing here…” he whispers, though not silent enough, because Donghyuck catches it.

“Who?” He follows Jaemin’s gaze to the pink-haired boy. “Oh my god, is that the boy you went out with?” he yells as Jaemin gets up from his chair, “He’s mad cute!” Jaemin hurries towards Renjun, trying his best to escape the devil incarnate, but to his horror, Donghyuck brings his hands around his mouth: “Hi! I’m Donghyuck!”

“Hi, Donghyuck, I’m Renjun!” he replies, equally loud. The whole cafeteria is watching the interaction and Jaemin wishes someone would knock him unconscious. 

“Nice to meet you, Renjun! Come to my party on Friday!” Jaemin will give you the details!” he waves and Jaemin throws him a glare as he approaches Renjun, greeting him sheepishly. He’s wearing a slightly oversized hoodie and Jaemin sees his sweater paws where he’s holding some notebooks. 

“Hi,” Renjun beams, “what was that about a party?” 

“Ah, yes. Donghyuck’s throwing a party, I’ll text you the details if you wanna come,” he says, rather awkwardly.

“Sweet. I was just on my way to class when I saw you so I thought I’d text!” 

Jaemin hesitates. “You know you don’t get bonus points from the universe for hanging out with lonely clairvoyants, right?” he says, trying to sound nonchalant, but it comes out rather harsh.

Renjun chuckles, searching Jaemin’s eyes for signs of honesty. “Is it so hard to believe someone likes you?” he raises an eyebrow. 

Jaemin suddenly realises he doesn’t know a lot about Renjun. Sure, Pyeongtaek was a relatively small city and there weren’t many universities, so the probability they went to the same one was pretty high, but even so, they hung out quite a few times. Or rather, Renjun followed him around for a few days and then they had an overly informative bonding session (at least on his side) over a few bottles of soju; which would probably classify as being best friends in Donghyuck’s books. He looks at Renjun’s small form, at his impossibly shiny eyes and full-blown smile and finds that he can’t stop himself from wanting to get closer to him. Maybe the years of only hanging out with his childhood menace of a friend finally caught up with him. He needed a change of scenery. Surely he can allow himself that, right? 

“Come on, then. I’ll walk you to class,” he says, and above him, out of reach, with a sound so faint, barely audible even if you pressed your ear to it, the clock starts ticking. 

#  **4.**

Apart from a few casual lunches with Renjun and Donghyuck (at which the latter made an exceptional effort to embarrass both Jaemin _and_ himself, no matter what he says — “ _It’s only embarrassing if you care about it!_ ”), the week passed by smoothly. It was already Friday and Jaemin found himself unable to give two shits about Donghyuck’s party. More so, he would have forgotten about it altogether if not for Renjun’s text reminding him to send him the address. It was something normal for Jaemin — dreading a party a few hours before. But as he lazed around in his living room, he found himself wanting to stall and not-so-accidentally miss the party a lot more than other times. He couldn’t really put his finger on it, but he had a strange feeling about it. He thought about _looking,_ after all, better safe than sorry, but then his phone chimed:

**the devil [8:43 PM]**

**DON’T BE LATE NA!!!!**

And so he let out a defeated sigh and went to prepare. 

**\---**

Donghyuck wasn’t exactly _rich_ rich, but he wasn’t very far off either. Jaemin had gone to his house plenty of times over the years, enough to not gasp at the size of it anymore. Though the same thing couldn’t be said for the group of freshmen he happened to walk next to. 

“Woah. So this is where _The_ Lee Donghyuck lives?” someone gasps to his left. 

Ah, yes. Donghyuck was quite the popular kid at school. His parties were no joke, what with senior, even master’s students going out of their way to attend them. And Jaemin was acutely aware of this, having spent quite literally every educational stage — from kindergarten up until now — dubbed _Donghyuck’s friend._

Jaemin knocked on the door, half-expecting Donghyuck’s ridiculous appearance. He was, very appropriately, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and some beige shorts, paired with a garland of flowers and sunglasses, an old-fashioned whiskey glass in his right hand. Jaemin could see about seven people crammed into a jacuzzi in the living room behind him and he did _not_ want to ask. 

Donghyuck pouts, taking off his glasses. “You didn’t dress up!” 

“Sorry.” Jaemin offers. He wasn’t.

“You know, if you were trying to be fashionably late, you should have at least put some effort in the fashion part,” he says, giving his half-assed black-shirt-and-jeans outfit a disappointed once-over. “Whatever, just come in,” he waves him off, “make yourself comfortable before your crush arrives.” 

“I don’t have a crush on Renjun!” Jaemin is quick to protest.

“I didn’t mention anyone,” Donghyuck winks, disappearing into the rapidly growing crowd. _Motherfucker._

Jaemin wastes no time in making himself feel at home as he trails his way to the kitchen. He makes small talk with some people here and there and soon enough, his hands find a slightly suspicious blue drink. Some synth-pop song starts playing and Jaemin leans back on the kitchen counter to admire the room. Donghyuck’s really outdone himself this time. The central piece of the party was a large jacuzzi where the couch usually stood ( _How did he even…_ ) framed by fake-flame torches. Pineapple-shaped mood lights cast a dim orange glow around the room and Jaemin forgot it’s the 1st of December for a second there. 

“So? How’d you like it? Pretty cool, huh?” Donghyuck grins, seemingly coming out of nowhere and draping an arm around his neck. 

“Sure is. You okay there? You’re getting kinda touchy,” Jaemin warns half-heartedly. He knew Donghyuck wasn’t a stranger to getting handsy at parties.

“I sure hope so. I couldn’t help but _look_ and this baby’s getting railed tonight,” he smirks, lifting his glass at someone from across the room. “Bottoms up!” 

Jaemin scowls. “By whom? And please, spare me the details.” 

Donghyuck wipes at his mouth. “Oh, I don’t know. I like to leave a surprise element to it. I hope it’s Yukhei,” he signals to the boy he toasted with, “Yukhei’s hot.” And with that, he vanished. 

Jaemin shakes his head, leaving for the kitchen to get a refill. 

“Jeno!” Jaemin calls and the boy turns around from where he was preparing a drink, “What are you doing here? I thought you hated Hyuck,” he asks, placing his glass next to his. 

“I do. But I had nothing better to do,” he explains, filling Jaemin’s glass, “and his parties _are_ pretty fun.” He downs a shot and gestures towards the front door. “Isn’t that your bubblegum boy?” 

Jaemin glances at the door and feels his eyes widen. Renjun was wearing a pink Hawaiian shirt with not one, not two, but _three_ undone buttons, matching his freshly dyed, pushed up hair. Thankfully, the garland of flowers covered most of his chest. Jaemin downed a shot, eyes still glued to his body as he was walking towards them.

“Hi,” Renjun grins. 

“Hey,” Jaemin replied. “Your outfit…” he took the chance to run his eyes over him one more time. He noticed he had glitter on his cheekbones and flower pins in his hair. 

“Oh,” he looks at himself in panic, “I overdid it, didn’t I?” 

“No,” Jaemin laughs softly, “you look good. I like it,” he admits with a shy smile. “I feel a little underdressed now.”

“Ah. Here, have this,” Renjun says, removing the hard-working garland and placing it around Jaemin’s neck. _Great, exposed chest. Just great._

“Thanks,” he murmurs, keeping his eyes on the floor.

Renjun looks over Jaemin’s shoulder. “Hi, Jeno!” 

“Yes, I am also here, hi,” he jokes, and just as he sees Donghyuck approaching them, “aaand bye!” he leaves.

Donghyuck pretends to pout, “I know you like me!“ he sing-songs, blowing him a kiss. “Anyways, hi!” he turns to Renjun, “Glad you could make it! I love the fit! You could definitely teach Mr. Buzzkill here a thing or two.” 

Renjun giggles and Jaemin feels warm.

“Oh my god,” Donghyuck starts, a comically serious look on his face, “you know what we should do? We should all hang out! Tomorrow! School’s off on Monday anyway,” he trips a little and hangs onto Jaemin, “what do you wanna do?”

Renjun looks at Jaemin for confirmation, earning a shrug. 

“Oh!” Donghyuck yelps, pointing at Renjun for no apparent reason. “What about the Christmas market? Didn’t it start today or something?” 

“Oh, right. That could be fun,” Renjun agrees, taking the empty glass from Donghyuck’s swaying hand in fear it would fall. “I’ve actually been meaning to go but I didn’t know who to bring with me,” he continues silently. 

“Perfect! It’s a date! We’ll meet tomorrow evening then! Oh, I love this song,” Donghyuck slurs his words, already walking towards the dancefloor.

“Wait, Hyuck!” Jaemin calls out, “What time should we meet tomorrow?” 

Donghyuck turns to them: “Oh, I actually can’t make it, I have a… thing! But you kids have fun!” he waves them off with a devilish grin. 

Jaemin locks his jaw. _Mother. Fucker._

“So,” Renjun stares at Jaemin through his lashes, “I take it you’re familiar with this place,” Jaemin nods and Renjun gives him a sweet smile, “Wanna show me around?” 

**\---**

The house in itself wasn’t as extravagant as the party painted it to be, Jaemin thought as he walked around the second floor hallways, occasionally stopping to introduce the purpose of a room. However, as Renjun started accidentally ( _or is it?_ ) bumping into Jaemin more and more as they walked, he had a feeling he wasn’t that interested in the house. 

“And that one at the end is another guest bedroom,” Jaemin announces, pointing to a large door.

“Another one? I counted like four already,” Renjun asks, not hiding his curiosity as he studied the paintings on the walls ( _but when did he ever?_ ).

“Yeah, his mum and her sisters are very close so his cousins often visit. They figured they’d have their own space,” Jaemin reasons, leading them to sit on the stairs. 

Renjun hums. They had a great view of the party from their spot and Jaemin saw Donghyuck cracking a joke with some strangers. His laughter broke through the music, filling the room.

“What’s the deal with those two?” Renjun motions at Jeno, who was currently leaning against a wall with a drink in his left hand and watching Donghyuck. 

“Jeno and Hyuck?” Renjun nods. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, why does Jeno hate him?” 

“Ah,” Jaemin pauses, thinking for a second. “Huh. I actually don’t know.” 

Renjun looks at him in disbelief. “One of your two best friends hates the other and you don’t know why?”

Jaemin blinks. “I don’t think he hates _him_. He probably hates his guts. I mean, have you met Hyuck? If I were to meet him right now instead of when I was like 5, I don’t know if I'd be able to stand him,” he jokes, emptying the glass he’d been carrying around.

“What! I like Donghyuck!” he argues, furrowing his brows at Jaemin. 

“Of course you do,” he looks him up and down, putting in a great effort to not stop at his exposed neckline. “You’re practically the same breed.” 

Renjun gasps dramatically. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he clutches his heart and Jaemin chuckles. “How did you meet them?” 

“Uh… I met Hyuck in training, about 15 years ago,” he explains, watching how Renjun’s mouth forms an ‘O’, “Yeah… we’ve been best friends ever since. Convenience, not choice.” Renjun snorts. “I’m kidding. He can be… a lot sometimes, that’s just his charm. But he’s an amazing friend, really,” Jaemin thinks of all the times Donghyuck has been there for him and he’s lost count about one year into the friendship. “Few get to see him past the loud, funny, carefree… sometimes even obnoxious persona he displays… but he’s a good person underneath all that. Kind, thoughtful, extremely reliable… and _that_ ’s what you really stay for.” 

Renjun nods, looking at where Donghyuck is doing a body shot with some hot senior. “That’s beautiful.”

Jaemin follows his gaze and laughs. “Yeah.”

“What about Jeno?” 

“Ah. He got a part-time job at the store around the time I moved to the city, actually. My parents’ house is a little outside the city, closer to Hwaseong,” he explains when he sees the confusion on Renjun’s face. “I figured I’d move closer to the university. I met Jeno at the store and found out we had some common classes and… well, the rest is history. That was around two years ago.” Jaemin remembers meeting Jeno and having to explain to him why he insists on buying groceries almost every evening at the same time. He grins at the memory of Jeno’s curiosity when he found out about his powers. “He’s a pretty amazing friend too.”

Renjun hums, watching him with a pensive stare.

They stay like that for a few minutes, silently watching over the throng of intoxicated young adults dancing around and wordlessly choosing their partners for the night. Jaemin envies them. 

“You know, I almost didn’t come tonight,” Renjun mumbles, eyes trained to the crowd, lips touching the neck of a bottle of soju. Jaemin briefly remembers Renjun’s alcohol limit and makes a mental note to keep checking on him. 

“Why is that?” he asks, eyes involuntarily travelling south to his nearly naked chest. He settles on his collarbones.

“Just wasn’t in the mood, I guess,” he shrugs.

Jaemin feels his pulse quicken. “What made you change your mind?” 

Renjun turns his face, an unreadable emotion in his eyes. Jaemin thinks he recognises it. Could it be… _lust_?

Two people run up the stairs, probably on their way to add to the number of orgasms Hyuck’s spare bedrooms have seen. Jaemin scoots closer to Renjun to let them pass and his mind screams as they make eye contact because their thighs are pressed together now and Renjun is way too gorgeous and way too _close_. He smells like peach candy and something else Jaemin can’t quite figure out.

Renjun’s gaze burns into his eyes and his tongue darts out to lick at the bottom lip ever so slightly. The music is still booming but Renjun’s next whisper reverberates through Jaemin’s body, hitting every bone in its wake: “You.” 

Jaemin gulps, instinctually leaning in. He looks at Renjun’s tinted, full lips, already anticipating the taste. And then it hits him. He feels a blush creep up his neck and shakily lifts his empty glass. “I’m gonna go get a refill, excuse me—“ he stammers, almost tripping in his attempt to go down 4 stairs at a time. 

He swims through the crowd, praying that Renjun is not watching him from the stairs. Finally, after a few turns he sees Jeno coming out of the ground floor bathroom and pushes him back inside, locking the door behind them. 

“W-wha—” Jeno stumbles back and grabs the air as he struggles to not fall ass first into the tub.

“Hey! There’s a line! Take it to a bedroom!” someone protests on the other side of the door. 

“They’re all full!” Jaemin yells back, hearing a faint grunt in return. He grabs a handful of his hair and turns to Jeno. “I’m freaking out!” 

“Okay, okay. Relax,” he guides him to sit on the side of the bathtub. “What happened?” 

“Huang Renjun is what happened! He’s too much! Too much wit, too much beauty!” he rubs his temple, closing his eyes. “ _Definitely_ too much chest!”

“Okay…” Jeno furrows his brows. “And?”

“What do you mean _and_?” Jaemin snaps. ”He’s driving me mad! I can’t handle this!” 

Jeno snorts. “Well, why don’t you handle _him_?” Jaemin glares at him. “Seriously, Jaemin. A pretty boy wants to bone you and you somehow found a way to think that’s a problem?” he teases.

“It _is_ a problem! I don’t wanna get involved with him and then be forced to leave! What if I fall in love with Renjun and then _he_ appears? I can’t risk that!” his head drops in his hands.

Jeno shakes his head, sitting down next to him. “You’re thinking way ahead. Jaemin, look at me,” he looks up, staring at him through his fingers, “I know this is important to you in the long run, but you’re so young still. There’s so many things to experience before the time comes—”

“You don’t know that,” Jaemin whispers.

“And neither do you,” he throws him a stern look, albeit a little cross-eyed, suggesting his own state of inebriation, “Listen, I’m just saying. Relax a little… try to have some fun. Just… think about it for a second. If you don’t want it, go home. It’s as simple as that.” Jaemin sighs, though he feels much calmer now. “If it really bothers you that much just look into the future, maybe that’ll reassure you,” Jeno offers.

“I can’t. I’m too tipsy,” he pouts.

“And whose fault is that?” Jaemin groans. “Hey.” Jeno gets up, “nobody falls in love from a one-night stand. You’re allowed to be attracted to people, you know?” He pats him on the back. “You deserve this.” Jaemin scrunches his face. “I’m serious, have fun!” he opens the door and throws him a final reassuring smile before heading back into the party. 

_Jeno is right,_ Jaemin thinks. Renjun was objectively the prettiest (and other superlatives, but he’s not ready for that now) boy who’d ever shown interest in him and for some reason he found it especially difficult to stay away from his charms. He’d often found himself lying awake at night, rethinking his decision to hold himself back, and such suppression can only amount to so much before he either becomes mad or depressed. His concerns were valid — the idea of falling in love with the wrong person has been haunting him for the better part of the last two years — but so was his burning desire to form bonds, get attached, care for someone else other than himself for a change, to feel something, _anything_ . It’s a great risk and he’s aware of it, but he allows himself to be selfish. _For one night_ , he thinks, though a tickling thought at the back of his mind tries to warn him. _If Hyuck can do it, then so can I._

He glances at his watch: 1:43 AM. He gets up, hurrying to check himself in the mirror. His vision is surprisingly clear so he tries his luck, steadying himself on the sink basin as he closes his eyes to _look_ into the next few hours. It’s blurrier than usual and it takes more time, but he sees a hand tugging the hair at the back of his head and the familiar telltale birthmark is enough to send him running off into the party. 

He scurries around the hallways, frantically scanning every person he bumps into. As he walks past an armchair in the living room he sees a plastered Hyuck splayed out on someone’s lap and sucking on their face and sends a mental prayer for the poor boy who found himself in the devil’s path. 

Some alternative rock song playing and he finally finds Renjun at the kitchen island, sipping on a drink and staring at the dancefloor before placing his glass down and swaying towards it. Jaemin goes to meet him halfway and they lock eyes.

_Should I believe in the world, momma?_

“Wanna dance?” Jaemin asks breathlessly and Renjun nods with careful eyes.

_Should I give up and hide or should I stay and fight?_

_Should I believe in the rules, momma?_

He places his hands on Jaemin’s shoulders tentatively and his own hands find Renjun’s waist, barely hovering above it. “I’m sorry for running off earlier,” he offers, a wave of anxiety suddenly washing over him.

“It’s okay,” Renjun smiles, relief visible on his features. 

_Tell me if I should run or learn to shoot a gun_

“To be honest, I almost didn’t come here tonight, too,” Jaemin feels his face heat up as the people around bump into them, forcing them to get closer. 

_I don't know what to believe, momma_

“Oh yeah?” Renjun smirks, “and what made _you_ change your mind?” he purrs, hands slowly making their way to the base of Jaemin’s neck. 

_Yeah, I'm down on my knees_

_I'm begging please_

Jaemin feels his heart lodged in his throat as he tries to formulate his answer so he settles for absentmindedly staring at Renjun’s lips. 

_Help me back on my feet, momma_

Renjun lets out a soft laugh. “Jaemin,” he leans in, “my eyes are up here.”

_Cause I need someone to believe, believe, believe in_

And so Jaemin glances at him for a split second before closing the gap between their lips.

_Tonight you're perfect_

Renjun connects his hands at the back of his neck, pulling him in. He tastes like a mix of strawberry gin and lemon. 

_I wanna fall in love with stars in your eyes_

The kiss is tender yet needy, going from sweet and soft to sloppy and open-mouthed almost instantly. It’s intoxicating and Jaemin feels his head start to spin. 

_Tonight you're perfect_

He tightens his grip on Renjun’s waist and slides his tongue into his mouth, eliciting a soft moan which goes straight to his stomach. He guides Renjun closer, pressing them together as he licks into his mouth, wordlessly begging to hear more of his sounds.

_I wanna fall in love but only for the night_

Renjun tilts his head back, allowing for a more comfortable angle. His hands play with the hair at Jaemin’s nape and he gently bites his bottom lip.

_Tonight you're perfect_

_Tonight you're perfect_

Jaemin pulls away for air before it gets too intense, proudly staring at Renjun’s red, slightly swollen lips. His head is buzzing, the noise around him drowned by the sound of his racing heart.

_Only for the night_

_“_ Renjun?” Jaemin looks into his full-blown pupils, giving him a chance to turn around, walk away and forget any of this ever happened.

_Tonight you're perfect_

_Tonight you're perfect_

But Renjun doesn’t even consider it for a second as he cups his cheek, slamming their lips back together. Jaemin sighs in content and Renjun smiles into the kiss.

_I feel perfect too!_

#  **5.**

A ray of sunlight hits his eyes and Jaemin exhales deeply. He squints, rubbing his face to get rid of the sleep. He’s lying in a bed (he mentally pats himself for not falling asleep on the floor again), facing a window. He makes an effort to sit up and recognises the place as one of Hyuck’s guest rooms. He thinks about last night and struggles to remember much past midnight. A drink here, a familiar mop of bubblegum pink hair there— the same head, Jaemin’s sleep addled eyes notice, as the one currently lying beside him in bed. Renjun is sprawled on his stomach, sleeping soundly. The duvet is half-covering his naked back and Jaemin is suddenly aware of his own nakedness. He’s still pretty sleepy, hardly discerning whether this is real life or a dream, but he tries to understand the situation. For a second he wishes he could see the past instead, but then he looks to his left and realises it doesn’t take a mystical power to figure out what had happened there, if the lube bottle and condom wrapper on the nightstand are anything to go by. Well, that and the feeling of absolute bliss that resides in his entire body, the kind you only feel after a _fantastic_ night. His mind is still too slow to catch up, but he at least remembers the protocol and starts dressing up. Now, Jaemin doesn’t have much experience with one-night stands — this would be his third one, he thinks — but the voice of a great philosopher (formally known as Lee Donghyuck) resonates through his mind as he’s about to touch the handle of the door: _“Never, and I mean never leave without letting them know. If you can’t, at least write a note. Don’t be an asshole!”_ Jaemin nods to himself and goes to gently shake the sleeping boy. 

“Renjun,” he whispers, “Renjun,” he shakes him a little stronger.

“Mm,” Renjun protests, a line forming between his eyebrows.

“I’m gonna go now,” Jaemin continues, lifting the duvet so that it covers him entirely. 

“Mhm,” he mutters before instantly going back to sleep.

He figures this is good enough and tiptoes out of the room, praying to every deity he could name off the top of his head that he will not run into anybody. And as his luck goes, as soon as he walks down the stairs to the first floor, he sees one Lee Jeno doing his own version of the walk of shame. They both still as they make eye contact. Jaemin comes to his senses quicker and makes a motion with his head towards the stairs. Jeno nods and they go down to the ground floor and out the front door, carefully stepping over the occasional floor-sleeping, snoring student.  
  


**\---**

“How can you be so calm?” Jeno asks, looking up at Jaemin from where he’s been wallowing in regret for the past 20 minutes, head in hands. “It’s obnoxious.”

Jaemin makes a face, blowing on his hangover soup. Around them, the restaurant was filling up fairly quickly, even for a Saturday afternoon. “Why _aren’t_ you?” he asks with a mouthful and Jeno flinches as drops of soup fall on his face. He wipes it off with a napkin, which then gets thrown at Jaemin’s face in a petty act of retaliation. “Because. I did a bad thing. And so did you.”

“I’m sorry, weren’t you the one who gave me the green light?” he mumbles through a spoonful of soup.

“I did not foresee that I would also find myself in this situation,” Jeno seethes. 

“And would it help you if I was just as miserable?” Jaemin sneers, visibly amused.

“Greatly.” Jeno was _not_ amused.

“Who did you even hook up with? Like, why is it such a big deal?” he asks, unaware of the impact of his question.

Jeno clears his throat, suddenly feeling nervous. “Just some freshman, but that’s not the point! I shouldn’t have done it, period,” he exhales harshly.

Jaemin drops his spoon in the bowl, scrutinizing him. “Jeno… you forget that I am not actually dumb…”

“It does slip sometimes, yes,” he spits half-heartedly.

Jaemin lets out a fake laugh. “Very funny. Now, who did you _really_ hook up with?” 

Jeno holds his gaze, seemingly not backing down. Jaemin quirks an eyebrow. “Fine,” Jeno buries his head in his arms, a shield against the reaction he _knew_ for a fact was coming, “It was Donghyuck,” he admits quietly.

“That was _you_?” Jaemin’s mouth hangs open for a second before he starts snickering. Jeno mentally gives him some bonus points for trying to hold it in. Perhaps a little too fast though, seeing as the next second has Jaemin holding onto the table for dear life and slamming his fist into it as his entire body violently shakes with laughter. The family at the table behind them turn around to stare.

“I get it, you can stop laughing now,” Jeno scolds, looking rather tired.

“I’m sorry, this is just too funny,” Jaemin wipes his tears, taking a deep breath. “Good luck living with that memory now,” he giggles, drinking the last of his soup. “I thought you didn’t even like him?” 

Jeno groans, “I don’t. He’s an annoying little shit. It was a moment of weakness… and I’m still hoping for some miracle that’ll make him forget it was me.” 

“Didn’t you let him know you were leaving?” he sets his bowl aside in favour of toying with his phone.

“Of course I did, I left him a note,” Jeno scoffs, apparently offended, “I may not like the guy, but I am not an asshole.” 

Jaemin was in the middle of a snarky remark about how Jeno followed the one-night stand protocol invented by his actual one-night standee when his eyes settled on his new messages, specifically one from Renjun.

**renjun [2:13 PM]**

**don’t forget to pick me up tonight~**

**7!!**

Jaemin’s face goes blank and he feels a weight tug at his chest. 

“Oh no! I hooked up with Renjun!” he says, head dropping in his hands.

Jeno winces. “I’m sorry, were we not talking about me?”

“Uh, you don’t have to take Hyuck out tonight, do you?” Jaemin panics, eyes widening in horror at the prospect of being alone with Renjun after what happened. He wasn’t an expert in one-night stands, but even he knew you’re probably not supposed to go on something dangerously akin to a date the next day. 

“Yeah, but he’ll never let me live this down!” Jeno complains.

“Oh, boo-hoo. So you nailed your self-proclaimed frenemy—”

“Enemy. No friend there. He’s the devil,” Jeno deadpans.

Jaemin rolls his eyes. “At least your entire love life isn’t on the line! Neither is his! Hyuck doesn’t even care about his vision!” He presses his cheek to the table ( _gross_ ), staring off into the wall. 

“Huh. I see the afterglow faded,” Jeno glowers at him. “What are you even worried about? Are you afraid he’ll fall in love with you and you’ll have to break his heart?”

“Obviously!” Jaemin grumbled against the table ( _again, gross_ ).

It was Jeno’s turn to snicker now. Jaemin eyed him judgmentally. “What are you insinuating?” 

“I didn’t say anything,” Jaemin squints at him. “I have better things to do than comforting your overreacting dumb ass. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Jeno says, grabbing his coat and leaving some change for his soup, “I’m gonna go home and take a long, long, _long_ bath. In bleach. Have fun with your loverboy!” he waves before heading to the exit. 

“He’s not my loverboy! He’s not _my_ anything!” Jaemin seethes, but Jeno’s already long gone. He huffs and closes his eyes to _look_ into the next few hours, now that he’s fully sober. He sees Renjun smiling back at him as he eats a gingerbread cookie and his face softens. _Perhaps it won’t be so bad after all._

**\---**

Everything was terrible. Jaemin had gone to pick Renjun up from his apartment and they were currently walking towards the market. He was blabbering on and on about his cat, his annoying teachers and the assignment due on Wednesday and sure, all of those were normal, but that was precisely why Jaemin was feeling extremely strange. Why was Renjun acting so infuriatingly normal, talking to Jaemin about his day as if he hadn’t been moaning in his ear less than 24 hours ago? _Oh my god, does he even remember i—_

“Oh, by the way. You forgot your beanie at Donghyuck’s,” Renjun says, handing it to Jaemin. “It was on the floor when I woke up.”

“Thanks,” he replies quietly.

“Yeah and as I was saying, after that I made hot pot and—”

 _So he does remember it._ Jaemin frowns. _Then why the hell is he acting like nothing happened?_ He decides to ask a professional and takes his phone out.

**nana [7:17 PM]**

**why is renjun acting like we didnt bone last night**

**the devil [7:18 PM]**

**YOU FUCKED RENJUN LAST NGIHTKDKF? &.??%#;’/!@?**

**nana [7:18 PM]**

**🙄**

**yes, but he’s not acknowledging it**

  
  


Jaemin sighs deeply as he waits for his reply, slightly fearing he might have given him a heart attack. 

“Oh, we’re here!” Renjun squeals as they turn the corner of the street. They’re met with a large crowd gathered around several food and games stalls. Everything is lit up by countless Christmas lights placed in the surrounding trees and lampposts and Jaemin finds himself smiling when he sees the excitement in Renjun’s eyes. 

“Let’s get some snacks first!” Renjun grabs his arm, guiding him towards the nearest stall just as Jaemin’s phone chimes.

**jeno dotori [7:21 PM]**

**stop overthinking**

**jaem [7:21 PM]**

**how did u know**

**jeno dotori [7:22 PM]**

**i sensed it**

**now stop. enjoy yourself**

**jaem [7:22 PM]**

**he’s acting like nothing happened**

**jeno dotori [7:22 PM]**

**isn’t that what you wanted?**

**what would you even want him to say jaem??**

Jaemin stares dumbly at his screen. What _would_ he want Renjun to say?

“I haven’t had these in so long,” Renjun then says, peeling the skin of a roasted chestnut before popping it into his mouth and making a satisfied sound. “My dad used to roast these at home and my brother and I practically inhaled them as soon as they were done,” he giggles, handing the vendor some money.

Jaemin’s ears perk up. “You have a brother?” he says as they’re strolling around the market.

“Yeah, I actually live with him, his name is Sicheng. We came here to study, my parents are back in China,” he smiles, albeit a little sadly. 

“Oh.” Jaemin’s face falls and he suddenly feels like an asshole for some reason. “I don’t know a lot about you, do I? Apart from the fact that you’re about to buy hot chocolate,” he smirks and Renjun’s eyes widen in surprise. 

“It sure feels like you can read minds sometimes,” he comments, ordering two cups of triple hot chocolate with pink marshmallows. “Is there anything you would like to know?” he asks, handing him his cup.

Jaemin hums for a second as he takes in Renjun’s appearance for the first time tonight. He’s wearing a long padded coat and a sunflower yellow beanie with a matching scarf. He’s blowing on his chocolate and Jaemin can see his red nose scrunch when he takes a sip. He thinks there is probably a whole galaxy in his eyes as he watches him examine every stall and likely come up with a plan for the night.

“Yeah,” Jaemin whispers, all of a sudden out of breath, “yeah, there are some things I’d like to know.” 

**\---**

It turns out Renjun was actually a very interesting person. Sure, this wasn’t news, even for Jaemin, as he’d long sensed his intelligence and wit and had been secretly hoping he could get to know him better at the party. Which he can’t say he didn’t, albeit not in the way he’d initially wanted to. In all fairness, it would be kinda awkward to open a discussion about morals and values with someone who has their tongue down your throat. But as they walk around the market, shamelessly keeping capitalism alive by spending all their money on plushie-filled claw machines, Jaemin comes to a _shocking_ realisation: he’s attracted to Renjun. He doesn’t know if it’s the sense of humour, which honestly feels like it was tailored for him, or his surprising body of knowledge about the human, well, body. It could even be a mix of the two (along with other qualities he’s _still_ not ready to admit, bless him), but either way, he’s having trouble trying to not replay a loop of the parts he remembers from last night. More so, he’s having trouble pushing away the mental image of a second, similar experience with him. _Especially_ so, with the way he carries himself like some sort of charismatic, fallen angel whose only purpose is to nonchalantly seduce Jaemin. 

“Yeah, and I was kinda forced to learn how to cook, what with living alone and all of that. Well, not alone, but my brother can’t cook to save his life, so,” he chattered, his eyes focused on the task at hand, which was winning the biggest plushie in the machine. “I enjoy it a lot now, so it worked out, I guess,” he giggles, pressing the button to drop the crane and sure enough, it grips the plushie, dropping it into the designated hole. “Yes! I got it!” Renjun’s eyes sparkle at the white toy in his hands and Jaemin smiles fondly. 

“Here,” he tosses it to Jaemin with a proud grin, “it’s you.”

“Thanks,” Jaemin smiles as he looks down at the medium-sized, winking bunny plushie in his hands. “I knew you’d win it,” he winks, momentarily feeling cringy, but then Renjun laughs — a contagious, warm laughter, Jaemin’s personal favourite, though he’d never admit it out loud — and he feels a little better. 

“It’s getting late, we should get going,” Renjun says, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “You walked me home last time, so I’ll walk you tonight,” he decides and Jaemin would have protested had he not been deep in thought. Adult thoughts. He settles for a nod.

**\---**

The walk home is by no means silent as Renjun takes it upon himself to narrate his favourite movie to Jaemin ( _“What? You haven’t seen Avatar?”_ ). And Jaemin, honest to god, tries to pay attention to the plot, occasionally humming in agreement, but more often than not he fails miserably, his Renjun-riddled mind swallowing him whole. He watches his beaming smile as he explains why it can be considered a political film, but all he sees are his pink lips, which makes him go back to his previous problem: why on earth is Renjun acting normal? It almost feels unfair, offending even, that the way he looks at Renjun definitely changed, when the way Renjun looks at him is very much the same. Is he not attracted to Jaemin at all? _Oh god, does he think I was bad—_

“Jaemin?” Renjun calls, waving his hand before his eyes. “Did you hear me? I said we’re here.”

Jaemin looks around and sees his flat building. “Oh. Right,” he turns to him, “thanks for walking me home.” His brain is itching to ask him.

“Yeah,” Renjun gives a small smile. “I’ll see you in school.” 

_What would you want him to say?_

Renjun waves, walking backwards. Jaemin waves back absentmindedly.

_I don’t know. That he liked it? That he wants more? Something, anything._

Renjun turns on his heel, walking towards the end of the street and is almost out of sight when—

“Wait!” Jaemin calls out, catching up to him. Renjun raises his eyebrows expectantly. “Why are you acting like this?” Jaemin asks, more confusion than anger in his voice.

“Like what?” Renjun’s eyes widen in worry.

“Like we didn’t— you know… You’re ignoring it,” he breathes out and his pulse starts spiking. The cards are on the table. 

“Well what would you want me to do?” Renjun asks, genuinely confused. 

Jaemin frowns. What would you want me to _do_? A lightbulb goes on in his head and he cups his cheeks, slamming their lips together. Renjun yelps in surprise before he snakes his arms around Jaemin’s neck, kissing back. He tastes of sugar and cinnamon and Jaemin thinks he’s losing his mind with how good it feels to finally have him back in his embrace. 

They break apart as Jaemin fumbles with the codelock. Eventually the door unlocks and he pulls Renjun inside, pressing him against the nearest wall. He quickly undresses him from his jacket, mouth trailing upwards across his neck. Renjun lets out soft, breathy moans as he grazes his ear lobe and Jaemin relishes in the feeling pooling in the pit of his stomach. 

“You know,” Renjun whispers in a low tone, “if you wanted me in bed again, you could have just said so,” his eyes flutter shut, sighing deeply as Jaemin sucks a mark on his collarbone and presses himself against him, “You don’t have to be so cryptic next time…” he groans as Jaemin grabs his ass, “you’re the one who can see the future here, silly.” 

Jaemin pauses and he locks eyes with Renjun, unable to wipe the giant grin off his face. “Next time?” 

Renjun rolls his eyes, more fondly than mockingly and Jaemin laughs, lifting him up and carrying him to the bedroom. The clock strikes 6.

#  **6.**

“This stupid photobooth ruins my aesthetic,” Donghyuck spits, glaring at the two square meters box tucked in a corner of the hallway. 

“Then why did you insist on getting it? I told you the giant disco ball is enough of a charming feature,” Jaemin questions from the open kitchen where he’d been tasked with arranging the makeshift bar. 

Donghyuck sighs defeatedly, dragging his feet towards the living room, “It had a huge discount…”

Jaemin rolls his eyes, knowing full well that if Donghyuck had one weakness, it would be ridiculously reduced prices. 

“What’s done is done,” Jeno says, “now help me blow these, it’s almost 8 already,” he motions towards the pile of colourful balloons sitting on the coffee table.

Donghyuck smirks, “Are you sure you even need help? You’re pretty good at blowing—”

“Gross,” Jaemin’s face scrunches up in disgust just as Jeno threatens to throw scissors at Donghyuck’s face. “By the way, I saw that Yukhei is coming to the party,” Jaemin wiggles his eyebrows at Donghyuck.

Donghyuck freezes. “Who told you that?” 

“No, I literally _saw_. Renjun was curious who’s coming and I thought it’d be quicker to look into the future rather than text you. So maybe you’ll have your chance with Yukhei tonight,” Jaemin winks.

“Jaemin…” Donghyuck throws him a worried look. “I know for a fact that Yukhei is back home in Hong Kong.”

Jaemin stills. “What?”

“Yeah, he texted me a few hours ago. I mean, unless he changed his mind and took a private flight, what you saw was wrong.”

“Uh. Maybe I confused him with someone else,” Jaemin replies quietly, knowing for a fact he knew exactly how Yukhei looked like.

“Oh yeah, probably,” Donghyuck relaxes instantly. “Anyway, what time is your boyfriend gonna be here?” he asks, facing Jaemin, who’s currently cutting lemon wedges on the kitchen counter. 

“Around 8:30 I th— hey, he’s not my boyfriend!” he turns to him with a condescending glare, pointing his knife at his face. What’s with everyone and wanting to slash him open tonight? 

“Sure, and you’ve been banging for the last month for what? Shits and giggles?” Donghyuck comments, rather amused.

“What, like you don’t casually hook up with people? Isn’t this what you’ve been telling me to do for the last two years?” Jaemin throws him an annoyed scowl. _The audacity._

“Come on, Jaemin. We both know that’s not your style. I was just saying that because I frankly never thought you’d do it,” he laughs and Jaemin quirks an eyebrow. 

He turns to Jeno, who’s quietly inflating balloons. “Aren’t you gonna say something?” 

Jeno hesitates before letting out a deep sigh. “It’s not something you’d wanna hear,” he mumbles.

“Say it,” Jaemin stares at him blankly, approaching the couch.

“I’m glad you’re having fun, I really am. I’m just afraid you’re losing sight of your initial plan,” Jaemin blinks in confusion, “I mean, you keep using your powers even though you said it makes you uncomfortable—”

“When am I using my powers?” he interrupts. 

“Jaemin.” Jeno deadpans. “You literally looked into the entire upcoming week this morning just because you wanted to plan your outfits beforehand, which, of course, valid, but… you used to say it makes you feel like living a fabricated life.” Jaemin opens his mouth to protest but then closes it. “You barely even come to the store these days…” Jeno continues with a shrug, “It’s like you forgot who you’re waiting for,” he meets Jaemin’s eyes to see a frown forming between his eyebrows. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” 

Jaemin feels like he’s been run over by a truck.

“I just wish you’d admit you have a massive crush on him,” Donghyuck comments as he ties up a balloon. 

“Some of us actually give a shit about our soulmates, Donghyuck,” Jaemin seethes and the look on Donghyuck’s face catches him off-guard. He looks so unbelievably hurt and a pang of guilt stabs at Jaemin’s heart, though he’s not sure why.

**\---**

His hands are gripping Renjun’s waist firmly, dropping south on some occasions as they’re pressed against each other in the sea of people, swaying to some upbeat synth pop song in an intimate, if not borderline filthy manner. Renjun is smiling up at him, mouthing the lyrics, and Jaemin feels an ever present, impossibly warm feeling blooming in his chest. He checks his watch, which reads 11:58 PM, and upon scanning the room he quickly realises he hasn’t seen Jeno or Donghyuck in a hot minute. He doesn’t have much time to think about it though, as the crowd immediately starts yelling the countdown. 

_10, 9, 8_

He grabs two champagne glasses from the nearby bar and hands one to Renjun, who squeezes his hand.

_7, 6, 5_

He watches how Renjun’s eyes sparkle under the disco ball and his heart skips a beat when he catches his gaze.

_4, 3, 2_

Jaemin surges forward without thinking twice, thumb caressing Renjun’s cheek as he catches his lips in a sweet, nervous, almost innocent kiss, one stained by a secret promise, unlike any of those they’ve shared before. 

_1, Happy New Year!_

Renjun kisses him back just as tentatively, with an underlying fear and something else, an emotion not so much foreign, as unspoken. And they stay like that moments after the countdown ends, bodies melting into the touch, holding onto each other with a hint of desperation and a dash of stubbornness. 

#  **7.**

The day started like any other Friday. Jaemin woke up, went to his classes, witnessed Jeno and Donghyuck bickering during lunch and proceeded to walk Renjun home in the evening. They were walking next to each other, hand in hand, enjoying the promising warmth of a mid-March sun and for a second Jaemin thought he couldn’t feel happier. Somewhere along the line he even stopped worrying about the occasional times he looked into the future and _saw_ wrong, Renjun becoming a sort of distraction, his own personal heaven. They never talked about it, continuously denying the dating questions and sticking to somewhat regular, casual hook-ups that they both knew were not so casual. They never expressed it, of course, preferring to lock the door on any feeling burning in their chests when they lock eyes. But it’s moments like this one — when their hands slip together instinctively, as if out of habit — when they allow the aching desire to fully dive in to bleed out of their hearts and float in the surrounding air. 

“Thanks for walking me home,” Renjun smiles sweetly and Jaemin mirrors it, “Do you wanna come in?” 

Jaemin hesitates. He’d been inside his apartment before, when his brother was out of town for work, but for some reason he always felt an itch at the back of his brain when the opportunity presented itself again. 

“Sicheng is out for the weekend,” he says, moving closer to Jaemin and looking up through his lashes. 

Jaemin gulps, suddenly excited. “I don’t see why not,” he grins and the itch remains unscratched once more. 

They’re sitting on the couch munching on some cup ramen and watching an episode of some 90’s sitcom when Renjun comes up with an idea.

“Let’s play the 21 questions game,” he says as his fingers fumble with the TV remote to turn the volume lower.

“Didn’t you interrogate me like a million times?” Jaemin teases, not unkindly, “What else could you possibly want to know?” 

“I could think of some stuff,” Renjun replies, wiping at his mouth with a napkin.

Jaemin thinks it over for a second before his curiosity gets the best of him. “Mmm okay. I’ll indulge you. Hit me.”

Renjun’s tongue pokes slightly at the corner of his mouth. _Cute_. “When and who was your first kiss?” 

“Hey, let’s establish some rules first. That’s basically two questions. Only one per turn, each has 21, okay?” Jaemin says as he crosses his legs and turns to face him on the couch.

“Okay, fair,” Renjun nods. “So no follow-up questions then?” 

“Hmm, only if the other party agrees. And let’s have 2 skips.” 

“One skip,” Renjun stretches out his hand, faking a businessman attitude.

Jaemin grins and shakes his hand. “Deal. You start, since you’re so eager.”

“Okay. When was your first kiss?” Renjun copies his stance on the couch, focusing all his attention on him.

“When I was 15,” he answers and Renjun’s mouth drops in an ‘O’, “What about you?”

“I was 18. Who was it?” 

Jaemin’s face scrunches up at the memory and he sighs. “It was Hyuck.” 

“What?!” Renjun yelps, “Should I be jealous?” 

Jaemin ignores how his heart practically jumped at his question and waves him off. “Nah, we were just curious and figured, why not? There was no tongue and we never spoke about it ever again.” 

Renjun chuckles, though visibly relieved to not find out about some dramatic past relationship. 

“What’s your natural hair colour?” Jaemin asks, bracing himself for the answer.

Renjun rolls his eyes. “Very spicy, Jaemin,” he mocks him, “it’s light brown.” 

Jaemin’s smile drops in disappointment, but he quickly masks it with a cough. _Well, I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up in the first place_ , he supposes.

“My turn. Who did you hook up with for the first time? And if it’s Hyuck aga—”

Jaemin fakes a puking face. “Ew, no. God, no. I was 18, it was just some senior at that time, his name was Jaehyun. We did it like a few times and that was it. You were the second one,” he admits sheepishly and Renjun smiles. “What about you?”

“It was with a classmate when I was a senior in highschool, back when I didn’t know I wasn’t into girls,” he recalls, scrunching his nose, “then came others.”

“Oh,” Jaemin laughs half-heartedly as he shifts in his seat, all of a sudden feeling awkward, “your turn.”

Renjun hums for a second, bringing the right hand to rub at his chin. “Why were you in such a hurry when I saw you at the store that day?” 

Jaemin hesitates. “I told you I wasn’t,” he lets out a weak laugh and Renjun raises an eyebrow. “Pass. What was your first impression of me?”

Renjun’s eyes widen in surprise. “Oh. Well that was a while back, wasn’t it,” he giggles and Jaemin shakes his head in confusion. “Ah… you probably don’t remember, but we didn’t meet at the store for the first time, we actually had a course together freshman year, Creative Writing?” Renjun continues and Jaemin stares in disbelief. 

“Wait, what? How come I don’t remember you?” Jaemin asks and he kinda feels like an arrogant asshole.

“I don’t know, you seemed like you were in your head a lot back then,” Renjun says, running a hand through his faded pink, almost blonde hair. 

“Oh,” Jaemin nods in understanding. 

“Yeah, it’s kind of embarrassing, but I used to have a crush on you,” he chuckles shyly, focusing his attention on the TV. 

“Oh,” Jaemin repeats and now he _definitely_ feels like an asshole. He looks at how the light from the TV hits Renjun’s profile. Some strands of hair fall into his eyes and his dark circles seem a little darker. He looks tired. 

“Why do you go to that particular grocery store so often?” Renjun changes the subject.

“Isn’t that the same question as before disguised as something else?” Jaemin accuses despite knowing his argument won’t stand.

Renjun purses his lips and Jaemin sighs in reply. 

“Okay,” he leans back against a cushion and clears his throat. “It has to do with my powers,” he explains, looking down at his hands. “You see, clairvoyants have this thing, kinda like a gift from the universe to cope with the struggles of the job… although for the most part, I just saw it as a curse,” he laughs weakly. “On the day we turn 18 we get a vision of the person we’re supposedly fated to be with. A soulmate, they call it. It’s something you can’t predict.”

Renjun stares blankly before he interrupts him. “Is the vision about how you’re going to meet?”

“No, it’s about what the soulmate is doing at the time. Although the place and time of the day supposedly coincide. I had my vision in the evening… and I saw that store.” Jaemin inhales deeply as he feels the air becoming thicker.

“So… all those times you went to the store in the evening, you were hoping you’d bump into him?” Renjun’s voice is strained and there’s a sadness in his eyes which makes Jaemin’s heart clench painfully. 

“Yeah,” Jaemin replies, barely audible. 

“What about Hyuck?” Renjun asks as he straightens his back, feigning composure. 

“Well, considering you don’t know exactly when you’ll meet your soulmate, Hyuck says he doesn’t want to wait around,” he pauses and looks down at his fingers, feeling extremely small, “I was gonna wait.” 

Renjun sniffs quietly. “What did you see in your vision?” he asks with a pained voice.

“It— it was a dark haired guy. He turned around and said something to me, I couldn’t quite catch it. That’s all,” Jaemin whispers.

Renjun nods and Jaemin shifts closer to him so that their knees are touching. His eyes search for Renjun’s and he reaches out for his hand, squeezing it lightly. “I like you, Renjun. A lot,” he confesses, voice dripping in affection. “I really do.” 

Renjun holds his gaze and Jaemin can practically _feel_ how vulnerable he is. He leans in, pressing their foreheads together and they stay like that for a minute before Renjun tilts his head ever so slightly and presses his lips to Jaemin’s. It’s soft and gentle and it lingers with an unspoken confession which makes Jaemin’s heart ache. 

Renjun breaks the kiss for a moment only to part his lips and press them harder, with a newfound confidence and a lot more intent than before. Jaemin welcomes it as he allows him to slide his tongue in his mouth and slowly push himself onto Jaemin’s lap. Their kisses are impossibly long and languid, heavy with an increasing fever, which is only evident in the way Renjun’s hands thread in Jaemin’s hair, tugging slightly, as his own slide under Renjun’s shirt to grip his naked waist. Jaemin’s head hits the couch and he lets out a gasp when Renjun starts rocking back and forth. He drops his head to work at Jaemin’s neck, pressing chaste pecks under his jawline while his painstakingly slow rhythm drags low, guttural sounds out of him. The kisses get faster and harsher and soon enough, Jaemin’s arms fall limply to his side as Renjun grinds down at just the right pace. He trails his lips to Jaemin’s ear, holding onto his shoulders for dear life. 

“I really like you too, Jaemin,” he pants and under the thick, impatient layer of lust and arousal Jaemin feels love. 

#  **8.**

He wakes up slowly, vision still blurry with sleep as he tries to stretch a numb arm. A naked Renjun is cuddled up to his chest, sleeping soundly, head tucked under his chin. Jaemin brushes his hair out of his face and his heart swells at how small and fragile he looks. How beautiful, too. So he hugs him just a little tighter and presses his lips to his forehead, receiving a soft whine in return. 

“Good morning, baby,” Jaemin murmurs in his hair. Renjun half-opens his eyes and blinks, looking at Jaemin with the confusion of a newborn. “Sorry, I need to pee,” Jaemin smiles adoringly, sliding from under his weight. “Be right back,” he tucks him in and puts on some trousers, slipping into the hallway. He lets out a yawn just as he rounds the corner to grab his phone from the kitchen table and then he sees him and stops in his tracks. A tall, black-haired boy, his back facing Jaemin as he seemingly unpacks some groceries. Before Jaemin can properly process the situation, the boy turns around and his face lights up in surprise. Jaemin feels like he can’t breathe. 

“Oh, hi there. Uh, I’m Sicheng,” he waves awkwardly. “You must be Jaemin, right?” 

By some miracle, Jaemin manages to deliver a small nod.

Sicheng lets out a faint giggle, much like Renjun. “Nice to meet you, I guess,” he extends an arm but Jaemin is too busy using up all his brainpower to understand what’s going on, so Sicheng drops it and coughs awkwardly. “Sorry for this, I uh… I didn’t know I was coming home sooner until this morning and well… I texted Renjun to let him know but I guess he didn’t see it,” Sicheng explains somewhat brightly. Jaemin looks at him with wide eyes, forcing himself to say something but his throat is constricting and his entire body feels like it could collapse any second. _It should have happened at the store_ , he thinks. His phone rings with a new message and he shakes his head, hurrying to snatch it from where Sicheng is unpacking. 

“Oh, is it yours?” Sicheng glances at the phone, grabbing it.

“Y-yeah, it’s mine,” Jaemin stutters as Sicheng hands him the phone. 

**4 new messages from: the devil**

Sicheng lets out a clear laugh, “Must be one _hell_ of a text.” Jaemin winces. _Oh my god._

Sicheng clears his throat. “Sorry.”

“I have to go,” Jaemin says, running back to Renjun’s bedroom and almost tripping over his feet on the way.

“It was nice meeting you!” he hears Sicheng yell just as he closes the door.

“What happened?” Renjun asks worriedly from where he’s making the bed. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Is Sicheng back already?”

“Yeah,” Jaemin breathes out, leaning back against the door in an effort to steady his pulse. He takes his phone out to check his messages.

**the devil [11:02 AM]**

**dude**

**i remembered why visions are all wrong sometimes**

**it happens when your soulmate is close to you**

**kinda like a hint**

“Are you embarrassed because he saw you like this?” Renjun chuckles, motioning towards him. Jaemin looks down at his half naked body, face as blank as ever.

Renjun notices his lack of reaction and walks towards him, a concerned look finding his features. “Jaemin, what’s wrong?” 

Jaemin tries to breathe. He tries to focus on the boy in front of him and tell himself it’s okay. But how could it be okay? How could it _eve_ r be okay again when he’s practically stuck between his fated lover and the lover he wishes was fated? 

“I can’t handle this right now,” Jaemin whispers to himself before he grabs his clothes and speeds to the front door, leaving behind a confused, heartbroken Renjun.

**\---**

Jaemin’s phone lights up again and he ignores it, shuffling closer to the coffee table to take the remote and turn the volume of the TV up. He’s pretending to watch a horror movie, trying to fool himself into thinking about anything else other than Renjun but, much like every other day for the last week and a half, it proves to no avail. He’s curled up in a ball on the couch, a place he hasn’t really left since coming home from Renjun’s, save for the bathroom breaks and occasional meetings with his neighbourhood’s delivery man. The doorbell rings and Jaemin almost falls off the couch. He’s already getting ready for another concerned once-over from Doyoung, the pizza man, but then he opens the door to a slightly shorter, fuming Lee Donghyuck. 

“You’re not Doyoung,” Jaemin observes blankly.

Donghyuck narrows his eyes. “No shit,” he spits, pushing the pizza box to Jaemin’s chest and walking past him. “Why the fuck have you been ignoring me? And what’s happened here?” he looks around the room, hands planted on his hips. “Have you been hiding corpses in your living room? Jesus, Jaemin, open a damn window,” he scolds, doing just that, “Have you even gone out since April started?”

Jaemin takes a seat on the couch again, at least having the decency to push the empty takeout boxes to the side so Donghyuck can sit too. He opens the new pizza box and silently eats away at a slice. 

Donghyuck shakes his head incredulously. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asks, hesitantly sitting down next to a pile of empty ramen cups. “You haven’t been to uni in like a week, you’ve been ignoring all of us, Renjun won’t tell us anything…“ he furrows his brows at him and sighs. “Did you two break up?” 

Jaemin is facing the TV with an absent look in his eyes.

“Jaemin?” Donghyuck calls, with a lot more care this time. “Look, if it didn’t work ou—”

“His brother,” Jaemin faces him, “is my fucking soulmate, Hyuck,” he says, an underlying anger betraying his nonchalant façade. An anger directed at his powers? The universe? Himself?

“What? I could have sworn Renjun was your soulmate,” Donghyuck comments quietly and Jaemin’s heart clenches. “Did you talk to him?”

“To Sicheng? Only like two words—”

“I meant Renjun,” Donghyuck throws him a stern look as he takes off his leather jacket. 

“Oh,” Jaemin’s face drops. “Not really, no.”

Donghyuck lets out a gasp. “You fucking asshole,” he shakes his head, “don’t you remember the protocol?! Always tell your one-night standee when you wanna break things off! Don’t fucking ghost people!” 

“In case you didn’t realise, Hyuck, Renjun and I are like 5 months past the one-night stand protocol!” Jaemin yells.

“Friends with benefits, same thing!” Donghyuck replies, raising his voice higher. _Competitive bastard._

“No! He is not my friend with benefits! He never was! I’m fucking falling in love with him! I don’t want a soulmate! I want Renjun!” Jaemin blurts out in one breath and Donghyuck’s jaw drops. 

“Shit, Jaem.” 

“Yeah,” Jaemin whispers, looking down at his hands. 

“I mean, I kinda knew, but I didn’t expect to hear you say it out loud,” he continues, rather teasingly, and Jaemin wants to throw the TV at his head. 

Donghyuck shifts closer and pats him on the back. “Are you _sure_ it’s his brother, though? I mean, the hints appeared way before you met him.”

“It’s probably because they’re brothers. He was pretty close the entire time,” Jaemin finishes his pizza slice and gets up to get some water. 

“ _Still._ What makes you so sure it’s not Renjun?” Donghyuck asks, turning to the TV.

“I saw him, Hyuck. He’s the one who appeared in my vision,” Jaemin mumbles as he sits back down, growing annoyed at his incessant questioning.

Donghyuck whips his head at him. “What do you mean you _saw_ him?” 

Jaemin looks at him in disbelief. “How else could you possibly interpret that sentence? He appeared. In my vision.” 

Donghyuck’s eyes widen and he, honest to god, facepalms. “Oh my fucking god Na Jaemin!!!” he groans, getting up from the couch.

Jaemin sighs in frustration. “What??” 

“The vision is not from your point of view! It’s from your fucking soulmate’s point of view!” he screams and Jaemin feels like someone knocked him unconscious. He opens his mouth to react, but the words die in his throat. 

Donghyuck stares at him, placing his hands on his hips. “You dramatic motherfucker! I can’t believe you locked yourself in your apartment for a week for nothing! Nothing!”

“What do you mean his point of view…” Jaemin whispers in a choked voice, suddenly very aware of his own pulse.

“Yeah! Soulmates are literally two halves of the same person! So you get to see his point of view once!” 

Jaemin grabs his hair, a loud ringing in his ears forcing him to fall back against the couch. He struggles to breathe as his chest feels tighter and tighter, and then he sees it. He sees him. It’s Sicheng, at the store, two years ago. He’s facing the aisle for a second and then he turns to him and speaks, almost in slow motion. This time Jaemin hears it, crystal clear, so clear, in fact, that it reverberates through his body for the rest of his life from that point onwards: “ _Renjun! Do you want ice cream?”_

Jaemin gasps for air as he comes down from the vision. He feels lightheaded, but that doesn’t stop him from glaring at Donghyuck. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me this before?” he spits.

Donghyuck frowns. “I didn’t know you forgot! We _literally_ had a course on this!” 

“I _failed_ that course, Hyuck!” Jaemin throws his arms up in defense. 

Donghyuck scoffs, clearly done with him. “How do you fail a course about yourself??” 

Jaemin pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to cope with the fact that his entire life was thrown off its course. Well, not really, he’s just pretty bad at studying apparently. 

“Holy shit, I have to find Renjun,” he says before practically jumping off the couch and out the door.

  
  


#  **9.**

He doesn’t even think about it for a second, his feet taking control of his brain as he runs his ass off to the place where it all started. He almost breaks the glass door on his way in, bless him, ignoring Jeno’s call from the checkout counter as he walks up to the ice cream aisle. And sure enough, there he was, in all his freshly bubblegum pink glory. Crouching exactly where he crouched almost six months ago, him reading the nutritional value of a jar of mushroom pasta sauce being perhaps the only difference. Well, that and the absence of 10 kg’s worth of winter clothes. 

“Renjun,” he breathes out, trying to catch his breath and failing miserably when they make eye contact. _God, I’ve missed him._

Renjun stands up, quirking an eyebrow at him. “Are you here to tell me I’ll break this jar too?” he mocks, but a glint in his eyes betrays his heart.

Jaemin laughs, shaking his head lightly. “It’s you,” he takes a step forward, “Renjun. It’s you. I thought the universe was pulling some sick prank on me… but it’s you,” he whispers, eyes pleading. For forgiveness? For trust? For _love_? He doesn’t know, but he reaches for his hands anyway and the clock strikes 12.

Renjun is grinning now and his eyes are shiny in a way only his eyes can be, holding the hope of a destined happiness, the promise of a pink future. “I hope you know I won’t forgive you for ghosting me for a week and a half yet. Soulmates or not,” he purses his lips dramatically and Jaemin thinks his heart will finally burst. 

Jaemin lets out a giggle. “Of course.” His fingertips brush against Renjun’s cheek and he settles his hand on the side of his neck. “I’m sorry for only asking now, but Huang Renjun,” he voices quietly, “will you be my boyfriend?” 

Renjun’s eyes crinkle and his lips curl into Jaemin’s favourite smile. “Yeah, I’d like that very much,” he wraps his arms around Jaemin’s neck and seals it with a kiss that they both melt into, without a care in the world. Not a single one. Not even about the jar of mushroom sauce that fell from Renjun’s hands in the process. And definitely none about Jeno’s deep sigh, or the words that came after it:

“So, which one of you lovebirds is gonna clean this mess?”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!~  
> i may or may not be in the middle of writing a nohyuck spin-off/sequel to this so do let me know if that's something you'd read :D  
> kudos and criticism are appreciated!  
> you can also come say hi on [twitter](https://twitter.com/yongtenz)!


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